Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin called out over 'blatant' AFL act

Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin could be facing a nervous wait to hear from the AFL match review officer after a fiery incident in which he appeared to kick Adelaide forward Taylor Walker.

Adelaide scored their second win of the season while 2020 premiers Richmond were consigned to a 2-3 record after five games after their 101-82 defeat.

'BE BETTER': Brutal Kangaroos loss sparks AFL Good Friday debate

'ALL AT SEA': Awful AFL moment sums up West Coast's woes

It's been a frustrating start to the season for the Tigers and for the briefest of moments it showed when Cotchin was hustled over the boundary line by Walker in the third quarter.

As Cotchin tumbled over on his back he appeared to kick his leg out at Walker, who quickly turned around the remonstrate with the Richmond captain.

Commentators immediately pondered whether or not Cotchin would be in trouble over the move, with former St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt tipping the Richmond great would indeed be in a spot of bother with the MRO.

Riewoldt suggested Cotchin is 'going to have to answer to that' when the incident is reviewed.

Richmond's frustrations weren't limited just to Cotchin however, with head coach Damien Hardwick left to rue Adelaide's domination around the ball.

The Tigers were smashed at the stoppages, with the Crows scoring 10 goals directly from them, while the Tigers also gave up 33 free kicks to 13.

On social media, some fans were shocked by Cotchin's kick out at Walker.

Hardwick was irritated by the free kick count, but admitted later that his side simply needed to be better around the contest.

Asked about the discrepancy, Hardwick said: "I can't answer that. Why don't you ask the question of someone."

Later, he added: "The free kicks are on us - we gave away some too highs and some sloppy stuff so we have got to get that part of our game better."

Frustrated Tigers go down to resurgent Adelaide Crows

Adelaide captain Rory Sloane will be sent for scans on a potentially serious knee injury suffered during a 19-point AFL win over Richmond.

The Crows, inspired by Taylor Walker's five-goal heroics, triumphed 15.11 (101) to 12.10 (82) in Saturday's Adelaide Oval fixture.

But Sloane was helped off by medicos and substituted out of the game, leaving his coach Matthew Nicks concerned.

"We don't know yet ... our fingers are crossed," Nicks said.

Sloane played only a dozen games in 2020 and 18 last year after a string of problems including a foot injury and a detached retina in an eye.

This season, he has been subbed out in two of his past three games.

"It has been a challenging period for him ... it just seems to be one thing after the other," Nicks said.

"But he keeps fronting up ... he just grinds his way through. He is exactly what we want to be as a footy team."

Sloane's injury took some gloss from a polished Crows performance which Nicks hailed for a new-found maturity.

Adelaide, with Walker dominating and fellow forward Elliott Himmelberg booting four goals, held a 25-point lead early in the third term.

But the Tigers, inspired by captain Trent Cotchin (24 disposals, one goal), rallied with four goals in a tick over seven minutes to hit the front.

Nicks' young Crows then responded with five of the next seven goals to join Richmond with two wins from five games this season.

With AAP

Watch 'Mind Games', the new series from Yahoo Sport Australia exploring the often brutal mental toil elite athletes go through in pursuit of greatness:

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.